Biographers International Organization


Biographers International Organization is an international, non-profit, 501 organization founded to promote the art and craft of biography, and to further the professional interests of its practitioners. The organization was founded in 2010 by a committee of noted biographers, led by James McGrath Morris, who served as BIO's first Executive Director. The president of BIO as of 2019 is Linda Leavell.
Each year, the organization presents its highest award, the BIO Award, to an individual who has made notable contributions to advancing the art and craft of biography. BIO members also vote annually on the Plutarch Award, the only international literary prize dedicated solely to biography.

Mission

BIO informs, supports, promotes, defends and advocates for its members.
BIO activities include informing biographers on the craft of biography, by providing guidance on matters related to the researching, writing, and publishing of biography; helping them deal effectively with resources, subjects, technology, agents. editors, and publishers; encouraging public interest in and appreciation for biography; and conducting conferences, public discussion groups, and mentoring.

History

BIO was granted its corporate charter on May 26, 2010, as a 501 6. On December 27, 2019, BIO became a 501 3.
BIO grew from the vision of biographer James McGrath Morris, creator and editor of The Biographer's Craft newsletter. In July 2008, Morris wrote an open letter to biographers, from which a grass-roots organization of practicing and apprentice biographers began to emerge. On March 26, 2009, the first formal organizing meeting took place at the Leon Levy Center for Biography at CUNY, and a temporary 15-member founding committee was formed to function as an Interim Board of Directors.
In February 2010, the Interim Board announced the formation of an Advisory Council composed of leading and noted biographers and agents including Deirdre Bair, Douglas Brinkley, Robert Caro, Joan Hedrick, Justin Kaplan, Eric Lax, David Levering Lewis, Andrew Lownie, John Matteson, William S. McFeely, Jon Meacham, Marion Meade, Nancy Milford, Susan Ronald, Stacy Schiff, Martin J. Sherwin, Kenneth Silverman, William Taubman, and Terry Teachout.
BIO convened its first conference in May 2010, at the University of Massachusetts Boston. It has since held its conference annually, at various locations in the United States, including Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles.
In 2019, Nancy Kuhl was awarded the 2019 Biblio Award for Extraordinary Service to Biographers by the BIO. Kuhl is a curator of poetry in the Yale Collection of American Literature, and received the award at the opening reception for the 2019 BIO Conference in New York City.
On May 18, 2019, James McGrath Morris, a Santa Fe writer, received the 10th annual BIO Award. Morris' work includes Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press, and The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, and Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism.

Awards

Each year, BIO presents several awards to honor biographers, editors, librarians and archivists, and their work.
Year
BIO Award
Biblio Award
Plutarch Award
Editorial Excellence
2010Jean Strouse
2011Robert Caro
2012Arnold RampersadEdward Comstock, University of Southern California
2013Ron ChernowDavid Smith, New York Public LibraryRobert Caro,
2014Stacy SchiffWallace Dailey and Heather Cole, Curators
Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard University		Linda Leavell, Holding On Upside Down: The Life and Work of Marianne MooreRobert Gottlieb
2015Taylor BranchThomas Mann, Library of CongressHermione Lee, Penelope Fitzgerald: A LifeJonathan Segal
2016Claire TomalinDave Grabarek, Library of VirginiaRosemary Sullivan, Stalin’s Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana AlliluyevaNan A. Talese
2017Candice MillardKaren Alder Abramson & Staff
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum		Ruth Franklin, Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted LifeRobert Weil
2018Richard HolmesMichael T. Ryan, VP & Director
Patricia J. Klingenstein Library, New-York Historical Society		Caroline Fraser, Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls WilderTim Duggan
2019James McGrath MorrisNancy Kuhl, Curator of Poetry
Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Library		David W. Blight,

Publications

The Biographer's Craft is a monthly online newsletter that active BIO members receive as part of their membership. TBC features original, non-fiction articles of general interest to biographers, writers, and readers of biography. Regular features include interviews with notable biographers, and a listing of biographies sold to publishers, as well as biographies published each month.
The current editor of The Biographer's Craft is Michael Burgan.

Leadership

At the first conference in Boston on May 15, 2010, Nigel Hamilton was chosen to assume the presidency, succeeding Debby Applegate, who had served as interim president. Charles J. Shields was elected vice president, and eleven others were selected to serve one- to two-year terms on the board. In its first actions, the board selected James McGrath Morris to serve as executive director.
Since 2010, BIO's president and vice president have been elected biennially by BIO members. Its Board of Directors are broken into two groups, each of which are also elected biennially. The current Board is composed of 19 members, including the president and vice president.
Term
President
Vice President
2009Debby Applegate -
2010-2012Nigel HamiltonCharles J. Shields
2012-2014James McGrath MorrisBrian Jay Jones
2014-2016Brian Jay JonesCathy Curtis
2016-2018Will SwiftDeirdre David
2018-2019Cathy CurtisDeirdre David
2019-2020Linda LeavellKarin Roffman

Membership

BIO offers varying levels of membership, depending on a member's professional status. BIO is open to professional, amateur, and aspiring biographers and documentarians around the world, and also permits membership for readers of biography, students and corporations.
Dues range from $30 annually for students, to $250 annually for corporations.

Notable Members